Delany helps Ireland secure World Cup qualification
GARETH Delany played his part in helping Ireland secure qualification for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup as they beat Oman by 56 runs at the Al Almerat Stadium today.
Delany, the brother of Ireland women’s cricket team captain, Laura Delany from Knocklyon, combined with Harry Tector to serve up 82 runs in 57 balls.
The pair looked to attack from the opening ball together, striking five sixes and five fours between them – Delany hitting three maximums in a row off the 11th over by Zeeshan Maqsood.
It helped steady the ship somewhat after Captain Andrew Balbirnie and Paul Stirling had been quickly sent to the pavilion with the score on 19.
Helped by the 36 from just 21 balls for Andy McBrine, Ireland finished on 165-7 from their 20 overs as Oman prepared to try and chase that down.
Needing 166 to win, Oman’s batters made a very positive start, but from a position of 68-2 after 10 overs, they collapsed, losing eight wickets for 41 runs, as Ireland secured a berth at the World Cup in Australia next October.
“I think our determination got us there today” said Ireland captain Balbirnie.
“We knew at the start of the week we needed to win three games, and we’ve got better every match, and that’s what you need to do in tournament cricket.
“Our T20 cricket has been inconsistent, and to win three matches in a row, we knew we’d have to be at our best. We managed to do that, and that was probably our best all-round performance.
“We lost a few early wickets, but Gareth Delany and Harry Tector’s partnership was world class.
“What impressed me was that they came out firing from ball one and didn’t just take their time to assess conditions.
“We’ve encouraged the batting group to back yourself and back your shots from the start, and they did that today.”
